Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-yeol Unveil Campaign Promises Targeting Young Voters Interested in Cryptocurrency

Lee Jae-myung "Promoting Virtual Asset Legislation" VS Yoon Seok-yeol "Tax Exemption on Coins up to 50 Million Won"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, are attending the '2022 Stock Market Festival' held on the 3rd in front of the Korea Exchange headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, and are moving to the ceremony location. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum, Jinyoung Jeon] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party presidential candidate, have simultaneously introduced policies to ease the tax burden on virtual assets in order to capture the votes of so-called 'coin lovers.' This is largely aimed at the younger generation, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, for whom virtual assets are a major interest.

On the 19th, Candidate Yoon announced the 'Safe Investment for Virtual Asset Retail Investors' pledge at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, which includes 'complete tax exemption on coin profits up to 50 million KRW,' 'allowing domestic coin issuance (ICO),' and 'fostering a new concept digital asset market through the activation of non-fungible token (NFT) trading.' He proposed raising the basic deduction on coin capital gains, currently 2.5 million KRW, to the same level as stocks. Regarding domestic coin issuance, Yoon explained, "We will start with the exchange-issued (IEO) method, which has safety measures in place." He added, "We are actively creating an environment where young people can invest with peace of mind."

Candidate Lee also held an on-site meeting at a virtual asset exchange on the same day and announced market-friendly policies such as the legalization of virtual assets and expanding the stability of virtual asset transactions to protect investors and the industry. This was a response to complaints from virtual asset investors, mainly in their 20s and 30s, about excessive tax burdens.

Both ruling and opposition parties are forecasting that the targeting of the younger generation will intensify. A Democratic Party official explained, "Since virtual assets are the area of greatest interest to young people, it is inevitable to target the youth." Yoon Chang-hyun, deputy head of the People Power Party Policy Headquarters, said, "Since this is a newly emerging market that did not exist before, a significant portion of the talent pool and investment targets are young people," adding, "This can be seen as part of the pledges for the youth."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.